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Nation's No. 1 RB officially spurns Tennessee football and commits to Michigan

Rough news for the Vols
ByBraulio Perez|
Tennessee head football coach Josh Heupel yells to an official during a game between Tennessee and Missouri in Neyland Stadium, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. Volsmizzou1112 2250
Tennessee head football coach Josh Heupel yells to an official during a game between Tennessee and Missouri in Neyland Stadium, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. Volsmizzou1112 2250 | Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

To be honest, a lot of people probably saw this coming. On Tuesday, top Tennessee football target Savion Hiter decided to shut down his recruitment and all signs were pointing to him picking Michigan. The Wolverines were feeling pretty optimistic about landing him.

Unfortunately for Josh Heupel, that's exactly what happened. While there was some hope that Tennessee would be able to pull off a last-minute stunner, that didn't end up being the case. Instead, Hiter just let everyone know that he'll be Ann Arbor-bound for his college ball.

5-star RB Savion Hiter has committed to Michigan over Tennessee football

The Vols had been on Hiter for a while, making him a top priority throughout his recruitment. Hiter took his official visit to UT in June and the staff rolled out the red carpet for him. While he was in town, everyone let him know just how much they wanted Hiter to play for the Vols starting in 2026.

His finalists were Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio State and Georgia, but this was believed to be down to the Volunteers and Wolverines. Michigan pulled out all of the stops to win this recruiting battle too, including having quarterback Bryce Underwood help out.

On several occasions, Underwood made it more than clear publicly that he wanted Hiter to join him in Ann Arbor next season. At the same time, 5-star quarterback and Tennessee pledge Faizon Brandon was also helping out Heupel.

According to the 247Sports Composite, Hiter is ranked five stars, the No. 1 running back in the country, No. 1 player from Virginia and No. 9 prospect overall for the '26 class. He picked up nearly 30 offers, with just about every powerhouse in the country chasing his verbal.

In the end, this indeed was down to the Vols and Wolverines, but Sherrone Moore and UM were able to get the job done. The Vols hold 5-star pledges from Brandon, Salesi Moa and Gabriel Osenda. The hope was that Hiter would add his name to the list, but it just wasn't meant to be for Tennessee.

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